A battery cell has been proposed as a clean, efficient and environmentally responsible power source for electric vehicles and various other applications. One type of battery cell is known as the lithium-ion battery. The lithium-ion battery is rechargeable and can be assembled in a wide variety of shapes and sizes so as to efficiently fill available space in electric vehicles. A plurality of individual lithium-ion battery cells can be provided in a battery pack to provide an amount of power sufficient to operate electric vehicles.
It is known that, when the battery cells and related stack components such as cooling fins, foam, and frames are stacked loosely during assembly of the battery pack, a compression gradient over a height of the battery pack may occur that undesirably affects a dimensional quality of the assembly. In particular, the loosely stacked battery cells may undesirably splay, flare, or arch to form a “banana” shape. The splaying of the battery pack may result from the presence of seals on the stack components. The splayed battery pack does not always straighten out sufficiently when the battery pack is subsequently compressed with a compression retention system.
There is a continuing need for a tooling solution to stack battery cells and related stack components while maintaining a dimensional quality of the resultant battery pack.